Moving On
by nucksfan2011
Summary: Teddy and Marco at college together, post season 3, a sequel to my first fic "It's Time". Please review!  Sorry, I promise this is going somewhere but don't have a lot of time so far! Short upload this time but next one will be longer!
1. Chapter 1

"What the hell is in this box, Marco?" Teddy whined, staggering into his boyfriend's dorm room, "It weighs at ton."

"Oh, stop your complaining Mr. Muscle Man Athlete," Marco teased, laughing as his boyfriend dropped the box on the floor, "Besides, it's the last one, we're all done."

"Thank God," Teddy said, feigning exhaustion and collapsing onto the doorframe.

Marco laughed and leant on the doorframe opposite Teddy, "And it was books by the way. In that box. I'm not surprised you struggled, you probably haven't seen that many books before,"

"Ha, ha," Teddy said sarcastically, mock-punching Marco.

Marco retaliated, giving Teddy a playful punch on the arm, and soon the two young men were consumed in a playful fight that was inevitably loaded with sexual charge. The pair tumbled onto one of the two single beds, vying for the upper hand. After a short tussle, Teddy managed to roll Marco onto his back and pin his arms down, "You give up," Teddy asked, cocking his eyebrow upwards.

"Never," Marco answered breathless. Marco began to laugh quietly, and at the moment Teddy couldn't think of anything more adorable. He ran his hand through the upwards flick in his boyfriend's hair, and leaned towards Marco, silencing his laugh with a quick kiss before collapsing onto the bed next to him. They lay there in a contented silence for a few seconds before Teddy found Marco's hand on the bed next to him and squeezed it gently.

"This is nice," Teddy said looking over to Marco.

"Mmm," Marco replied, exhaling deeply.

Teddy rolled over onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow, "Remind me again why we can't room together," Teddy said carefully.

Marco moaned exasperated and sat up on the bed, the calm now broken.

"We've talked about this Teddy, and we both said-"

"No, you said," Teddy interjected, sitting up next to Marco on the edge of the bed "I still don't understand why it's a bad idea."

Teddy's lip stuck out like a disgruntled child.

"Because, Teddy. We've only been dating for six months." Marco began firmly, not yielding to his boyfriend, no matter how sweet his pouting was, "We still need our own space. What would happen if we broke up?"

"So, now you wanna break up?" Teddy huffed, starting towards the door.

Marco leapt up and grabbed Teddy's shoulder before he could leave the room, "Teddy, don't be stupid. I just think we'll have a way healthier relationship if we have our own separate rooms. You gotta trust me on this."

Teddy reluctantly nodded but was still visibly dismayed,

"I guess I should finish unpacking," Teddy said in a low voice, "I'll see you later."

Teddy turned away and out the door, but Marco pulled him back by the hand and forced him to look into his eyes.

"I love you," Marco said, looking into his boyfriend's blue eyes and Teddy couldn't help but smile.

"I love you too," Teddy whispered back, and melted into Marco's lips.

When he kissed Marco, Teddy almost lost himself, and it scared him sometimes. But what he found in their kisses, the something that they shared, what he discovered of them as a pair was worth the risk of whatever he put of himself on the line. The intensity of this feeling was perhaps why they didn't notice the figure shuffle down the hallway with a large box and approach the doorway.

"Er, excuse me guys, can I get by here?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Uh… hi… I'm… uh… I'm Marco," Marco finally stammered, his cheeks growing pink.

"And I'm carrying a really heavy box," the tall boy responded. His tone was light but Marco was too embarrassed to notice, and Teddy was staring at his own feet.

"Sorry," Marco mumbled and the two other boys sprung apart, standing in separate corners of the room, and talking incoherently into their chests. The tall boy heaved the box onto the farthest bed and turned smiling back to them.

"Sorry about that," he said, approaching Marco with an outstretched hand, "I'm Josh, and I guess we're roommates."

"Hi," Marco responded, still blushing, "I'm Marco. Shit, I already said that, didn't I?"

Josh laughed and Marco blushed harder.

"And this is my boyfriend, Teddy," Marco waved vaguely to the corner from which Teddy had not moved and where he was now staring at the wall.

"Teddy Montgomery?" Josh asked, and Marco and Teddy turned to each other, dejected.

"Great," Teddy thought, Josh had seen the photo. The one of him and Marco kissing. The one that had been splashed all over the gossip magazines at the beginning of the summer. The one that had prompted the sneaking around, the mistrust and the frustrations in Teddy and Marco's relationship. Yes, they had confronted the issues, and they were stronger as a couple for it. But they had thought it was behind them, that college was a new start, where Teddy wasn't Spence Montgomery's son, or the failed tennis star, or the player turned gay. And Marco wasn't the poor scholarship kid, or the shy soccer captain. They were just Teddy and Marco, the sporty, good-looking couple with no past and a bright future. That was what they had hoped, but this question from Marco's roommate pushed them back into all that mess and threatened to ruin the glorious summer they had just shared.

"Ah, yeah," Teddy said finally, reluctantly.

"So this is yours then," Josh said brightly, oblivious to the mood shift in the room, and chucked over Teddy's tennis bag, which had his name written onto the handle.

"Thanks," Teddy gushed, almost giddy with relief. He swung the bag onto his broad shoulders, smiling now at last.

"I should go unpack, nice to meet you Josh," Teddy announced, and reached to shake Josh's hand.

"You too buddy," Josh replied.

"I'll text you later," Teddy said to Marco, leaning in to kiss him goodbye, but then deciding he didn't want to be the source of any more awkwardness between Marco and his new roommate. Marco clearly felt the same; he coughed uncomfortably as Teddy approached. Teddy went for a good old chummy shoulder pat, the only gesture of affection he had allowed Ian to use with him in public. Teddy shook his head; the recollection was an unpleasant one; all that seemed a lifetime ago now.

"See ya," Marco said quietly and Teddy ducked out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

The two new roommates were alone now, Josh was opening the large box on his bed and Marco was pulling at his own ear, wondering if he should say something.

"Sorry about you walking in on…" Marco finally began but soon trailed off shyly.

Josh looked up and gave an encouraging half-smile," I don't have a problem with it. At all. Just so you know."

Without thinking, Marco snarled sarcastically, "Why 'cause some of your 'closest friends are gay',"

Josh looked at him, hurt, and Marco instantly regretted his tone. He couldn't help it though, he'd heard that line so many times before, and it usually led to the person spouting a long list of clichés, usually mentioning that they really liked Elton John and that the "cowboy film with the dead Australian (or was he from New Zealnd?) was just _fabulous_" and they ended up sounding more homophobic than if they'd said nothing at all.

Josh remained calm, and looked straight into Marco's eyes, "No, just the one. My best friend Adam. He's coming to CU too," Josh waited a beat then smiled at Marco as if to let him know everything was still okay, "I have to go get some more stuff from my car,"

"I'm sorry," Marco offered, mortified as josh ambled past him to the door, "I shouldn't have said that."

"Forget it," Josh replied, turning back and giving his already familiar wide grin.

"Hey, you want some help?" Marco said smiling back, "I made Teddy carry all the heavy boxes so I'm not tired at all."

"Sure," Josh said, laughing and the two of them piled out the door. As they got to Josh's car, a beat-up Honda Accord with a generous collection of dust and heavy metal band bumper stickers laid on it, Josh reached into the trunk and said casually, "I have a girlfriend back home in Oregon so I'll be gone most weekends, if you and Teddy want the room to yourselves, that should be no problem."

"Thanks," Marco smiled and took out a crate from the back seat.

The boys walked back to the room, chatting congenially and laughing together. Marco turned to Josh as they reached the door, leaning the crate on the wall.

"Having a girlfriend far away… that's gonna be tough. I don't wanna be… uhhh… you know… but how long have you been dating?"

Marco said his question carefully, wondering if his curiosity was perhaps bordering on nosiness or probably unwanted probing.

"Not that long actually," Josh said thoughtfully, "I know, long distance relationships… I didn't plan on it… I was always going to go to CU, it's my dad's alma mater so… I just wanted to leave home behind but then Hayley…"

For a moment Josh was lost in a private daydream, he then flashed a smile at Marco and shrugged, "Well, love's funny like that, you know?"

Yes, Marco certainly did. And for a moment, Marco was gone too, lost in a fantasy that was all his own.

"So you gonna stand there dreaming all day, Romeo?" Josh interrupted, "Or are you gonna open the door?"

"I don't have a key," Marco panicked, patting his pockets with his free hand "I thought you did. I'm so sorry, I –"

Marco looked up to see Josh grinning mischievously, dangling a key in his face, and Marco couldn't help but throw his head back and laugh.

"God, you're easy," Josh teased, opening the door and marching into the room "this is going to be so much fun."

Marco followed behind, knowing somehow that Josh was absolutely right.


	4. Chapter 4

Teddy crashed onto his bed, exhausted and sweating. He was glad his roommate didn't move in until the next day. It was nice to be alone, Marco was right. Especially when he was in this mood. This post-workout buzz. That high that he experienced after exercise. Sure, it wasn't the same euphoria he felt after playing tennis, the heights of which he was coming to know again, and it wasn't at quite the level of intense pleasure that he felt after _other_ physical exertions. Yes, Marco was certainly a good athlete. As Teddy allowed his mind to linger on this particular thought, he was suddenly extremely glad he was alone.

Teddy lay in this way for a while, caught between waking and sleep, staring out his window until his hand started tingling. He then realised he had been lying on it, and for quite some time. He rolled over to his nightstand to look at the time on his phone and realised he had turned it off. Shit. Marco had earlier suggested that he would come over and help Teddy unpack… With an absent roommate, Teddy only had one notion what that meant. He turned on his phone to discover he had three voicemails. All from Marco. Shit. In the first, Marco had said Josh had invited him to a party and Marco would wait for Teddy to come over so he could join them. In the second, Marco – now impatient – had said Teddy could just meet them there and given directions. In the third, a now tipsy Marco muttered incoherently into the phone, before yelling that Teddy better get there pronto, then another slur of unintelligible noises, then more shouting. Teddy thought Marco might have been saying that he loved his Teddy, but it could have easily been his bed. Teddy chuckled, snapping the phone shut and tossing it onto his bed. Teddy glanced around at the boxes that littered the room, he had yet to even begin unpacking but he didn't need to be told twice that his boyfriend needed rescuing, so he tore into a few boxes looking for his clothes and changed into a shirt and jeans as quickly as possible. The thought that when inebriated, Marco became rather _loving_ barely crossed his mind. Okay, he had to admit, it was the first thing he thought of, he was a guy after all. He often got rather _handsy_ with Teddy, practically groping him at Ivy and Raj's wedding, and at the pre-college going away party… well… Teddy didn't know if Marco was subconsciously insecure and was marking his territory, or alcohol just made Marco friendly but Teddy was out the door before he could decide.


	5. Chapter 5

By the time Teddy arrived at the party, everyone was pretty far gone. Usually, he hated hanging around drunk people, when you're sober it's no fun. But this time he was on a mission. He made a circuit of the downstairs area of the house, filling up a red cup with now warm beer as he went. Marco was nowhere to be found. He was about to head outside the open door he could see lead on to the back yard when a scantily clad girl thrust a shot in his face.

"Wanna do a shot of tequila with me?" She slurred.

Teddy murmured a, "No, thank you," and attempted to edge round her. He still wasn't sure how to deal with being hit on by girls. He knew it would happen from time to time. When he was with Marco, it was pretty clear that they were a couple, only an idiot would miss their doughy-eyed expressions or their body language towards each other. Or if that was too subtle, it was impossible not to notice the arm Teddy would often drape across Marco's shoulder or their two hands entwined. Teddy had taken so long to be comfortable with himself that he now took every opportunity to show Marco just how proud he was to be with him. But Teddy wasn't with Marco now, and he was an athletic guy, and not bad looking, he imagined. So why wouldn't a girl, especially one so inebriated want to flirt with him? Although he knew this, Teddy was still uncertain and could do very little but reluctantly down the shot that was pressed into his hand. Teddy then turned away and attempted to head out the door.

"Hey," the girl called after him, "What about the lime?"

Teddy turned back to see the girl had place the lime in her mouth, and was now winking at Teddy.

"I'm allergic," Teddy mumbled, blushing to the edge of his ears, "I'm sorry I have to go find my boyfriend."

Teddy saw her face fall and began to edge away and out the back yard, welcoming the breeze on his hot face. He wondered if he should have said that last part, did it make her feel better knowing that he was gay? That it wasn't that she was unattractive (she wasn't) but that he was biologically programmed to not be into her? And that he was off the market anyhow? Teddy wasn't sure but before he could think about it in too much detail, he spotted Marco across the yard. Teddy walked towards him, wondering if the growing darkness was playing tricks on his eyes but as he neared his boyfriend he realised that his first impression had been correct. Marco was sitting on a bench with his head against a strange guy's chest, a guy who had his arm around Marco. And suddenly, Teddy couldn't move at all. He tried to move forward but was rooted to the spot, his head spinning slightly from the alcohol, and anger rising in his throat.


	6. Chapter 6

Teddy hoped it wouldn't go as far as a physical confrontation as – despite his strength – he lacked the ferocity to be a good fighter. Yet, if he thought Marco was being taken away from him, he would give everything, physically and emotionally, to stop that from happening. He decided to start with a verbal warning, "Hey, what's going on here?"

"Shhh," a voice came back, from the boy whose shoulder Marco was leaning on, "He's sleeping."

And indeed, upon closer inspection, Teddy could see that Marco was indeed fast asleep. There was little Marco could do about the situation so he was hardly to blame for it, but Teddy couldn't shake the feeling from the pit of his stomach that he needed to move Marco. Fast. In as jovial a tone as he could manage considering his earlier barked demand, Teddy offered, "It's okay, I'll take it from here."

"I don't think so," the boy responded, closing a protective arm on the now rousing Marco. Teddy bit back the rage, trying to remain calm.

"It's fine, I'm his boyfriend, Teddy," he swallowed, "Teddy Montgomery."

The boy continued to eye Teddy with suspicion but Marco now had his eyes open, and slowly took stock of the situation, spotting Teddy. He lunged forward towards Teddy, who had to reach forward, catching him in his strong arms.

"My Teddy bear," Marco exclaimed loudly, "I've missed you."

Before Teddy had a chance to fix the boy with an'I told you so' glare, Marco pulled him into a fierce and all-consuming kiss, which Teddy refused to surface from, despite conspicuous coughs from the watching boy. Eventually though, Teddy had to come for air, and was able to hold Marco steady whilst fixing the boy on the bench with a triumphant grin.

"Sorry about that, I was worried about him is all," the boy mumbled into his lap, "I'm Adam, by the way, I'm a friend of Marco's roommate."

Teddy looked only at Marco who had perhaps slightly sobered up since he left the incoherent messages on Teddy's phone, but was still clearly in his 'friendly' mood, and winding his hand round Teddy's waist and up his shirt. As Teddy felt Marco's hand fiddle at his belt buckle, he knew they had to get out of there and back to Teddy's gloriously empty room and fast.

"Thanks for helping out Adam," Teddy called over his shoulder as he departed, but his mind was already miles away. One point two miles away, in Teddy's dorm room, where indescribable passion, indefatigable love and youthful inebriation were about to merge.


	7. Chapter 7

For most people the first few weeks of college pass quickly in a blur of new people and encounters, the endless purchase of expensive and under-used books, and warm beer. But for Teddy, each hour he was away from Marco dragged, and due to their opposing training and class schedules, these hours were adding up. It would be okay if like Marco, he had a roommate he got along with. But Teddy's rare interactions with his sullen roommate largely consisted of overly cheery greetings from Teddy returned with silent shrugs.

There was a bright side to his roommate's absence; Marco could stay at Teddy's whenever he wanted. But early morning tennis practices forced Teddy to leave his boyfriend's sleeping form in bed, a task he found increasingly difficult. But when he got on court, he forgot about everything. Even Marco, and how adorable he looked when he slept. He didn't think about how little his classes interested him, how much it bothered him that Marco spent so much time with Josh's gay best friend Adam, and how disappointed he was in himself that this annoyed him. He didn't think about how instead of making the effort to make new friends or join an activity like Marco had suggested, he spent Marco's evening soccer practices going on long runs before meeting his boyfriend at the locker room door.

Teddy seemed to depend Marco, and it bothered both of them. College was supposed to be the best four years of your life, but Teddy felt like it was a bit of an anti-climax. Sometimes he envied Liam, the freedom he had, riding the ocean. But then Teddy realised that he just missed him. And Dixon too. And Annie, and Ivy, and Raj, and even the obnoxious Naomi – whose bravery to divert her life plan for motherhood he would always admire.

There were even mad moments where he missed high school, thinking life was simpler then. Then he remembered the Silver drama (correction, dramas), the injury that almost ended his tennis career, and then there was the coming-out, the inevitable memory of Ian made him wince still. Nope, high school was better behind him.

And he only had to have one moment of seeing Marco laugh, or feeling Marco's lips on his, or hearing whisper to Teddy that he loved him. One moment with Marco was usually enough to make Teddy halt in any doubt spiral he was in. Usually. But even the knockout smile Marco gave Teddy now as he slowed to a walk outside the locker room, and wiped the sweat from his forehead, was not enough. Not enough to keep Teddy from thinking about this morning's tennis practice session, and how his coach had asked him to consider going on tour with the team. And how he was already considering saying yes.


	8. Chapter 8

Marco didn't exactly consider himself "Mr. College" and he hated it when Teddy called him that, as it only reminded him that as much as Marco was relishing the college experience, Teddy was shrinking away from it. Marco knew he wasn't happy, even before Teddy told him that he had been offered a spot on the tennis tour. Nothing had been decided yet, Teddy had stressed that point heavily. But Marco couldn't help but think that in a way, Teddy was already gone.

Marco knew that he loved Teddy but he wondered if their relationship could survive the distance. They seemed to have enough problems when they lived on the same city, and even now when they were on the same campus. As Marco straightened his tie and looked at himself in the mirror, he wished that Teddy hadn't told him about this tonight. In half an hour they had to be at the athletic union winter formal, an event they had been looking forward to for months, and now the mood was tense. But Marco had another thought as he looked at his own reflection: I look good. And when he glanced over at Teddy who was sitting on his bed staring at his shoes, he could see that Teddy looked good too; even

more gorgeous than usual, his muscles visible through his suit jacket. But as Teddy looked up, his expression was troubled - he was far away, and Marco's six foot boyfriend suddenly looked very small.

"You look so handsome," Marco said, stepping towards Teddy, and the blonde smiled at him briefly and looked again at his lap.

"Aren't you going to tell me I look good too?" Marco asked, winding his arm around Teddy's waist.

"You already know you do," Teddy said flatly, ignoring the kiss Marco placed on his temple.

Marco sighed and got up from the bed.

"Look, what do you want from me?" Teddy asked, really wanting to know.

"I want you to forget about this for a few hours. I want to have you here with me, I want to have you - at least for tonight."

Here, Marco's voice broke and Teddy rushed towards his vulnerable boyfriend and wrapped his arms around him.

"You have me Marco, whether I'm here or not. You'll always have me," Marco realised the seriousness of what Teddy had just said, the promise of longevity for their relationship. He cocked his eyebrow up at Teddy, had he meant to say that? Teddy was aware of the sceptical look Marco was giving him but he wasn't backing away from what he just said. Instead, he tilted Marco's chin up toward him and looked into the pools of molten chocolate that were the eyes of the one he loved. It was not usual for Teddy to immediately vocalise his feelings for people he cared about, that scared him too much but he did it now; he felt a surge of love for his boyfriend and he opened his

mouth and said with assurance, "I love you Marco."

And then they kissed, it was long and tender, soft and slow. And rudely interrupted.

"So I was like, don't lecture me on Spiderman 'cause I - woah, sorry guys!"

Josh came booming into the room, all wide grins and apologetic laughter, close behind him was Adam, who was not laughing, but he was grinning - a sort of triumphant, sinister smile.

"You guys look great," Josh continued at the same volume, having noticed their suits," don't they Adam?"

"Why are you guys dressed up?" Adam demanded in response, his voice almost accusing.

"The athletic union winter formal," Marco informed Adam, smiling and distractedly playing with Teddy's hair. It was now Teddy who was grinning triumphantly.

Adam tried little too hard not to notice, turning away and saying a little too loudly, "Hot jocks in suits, count me in!"

Marco laughed but Teddy cut in, "You have to be on a team to come."

"I was kidding Teddy, relax." Adam said with an annoying level of assurance.

"Have fun guys!" Josh said, easing the tension with one of his classic smiles.

"We will," Marco said, looking only at Teddy, who forgot all about Adam whilst looking back. They found each other's hands and left the room, walking into the evening light with the hope that everything would turn out alright for them, and for now, hope was enough.


End file.
